Michael Penix Jr.? Tua Tagovailoa? Cooper Rush? Jack Strand?
Who will be the Falcons’ starting quarterback on Thursday night when Atlanta plays Green Bay?
“I don’t have an update right this minute,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his Monday video conference. “I have a decent idea of where we’re going, but I’ve not yet talked to the players yet. We have meetings later today. I’ll update you guys when appropriate on that. But, bottom line is, we’ve got to continue to put our plan together on offense, defense, and special teams, and find a way Thursday night in Green Bay.”
It’s been an ugly start to the season for Atlanta’s offense. With Tagovailoa suffering an oblique injury during practice leading up to the season opener, Rush has started the first two games. But he played so poorly and Sunday’s loss to the Panthers was so out of hand that Strand — an undrafted rookie — made his first appearance in the second half yesterday.
Penix has been getting closer, with some reports indicating he could be available for Thursday night. But even without making the QB1 announcement, Stefanski declined to get into specifics when it comes to Penix.
“I talk to Mike every day and, like I’ve told you guys, I’m very confident in our discussions with Mike, with medical throughout this entire process,” Stefanski said. “So it’s not news to say I talked to Mike yesterday, I’ll talk to Mike today. But anything past that, I don’t have an update, per se.”
As for Tagovailoa, Stefanski said he’s getting better.
“We’ll work through what that means for this week, but definitely getting better,” Stefanski said.
And what about Strand? He was 8-of-15 for 59 yards with an interception in his first NFL action.
“Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m very excited about Jack’s development and the work that he’s putting in in this building, constantly, is impressive,” Stefanski said. “To see where he’s come from, from Day 1 until now, I’m really proud of him. And he’ll continue to work. He’ll be better for the reps he got yesterday, but he also recognizes there’s a ton of work to do.”
Stefanski indicated that the Falcons could make an announcement about their starting quarterback as soon as later on Monday, after he’s addressed the team.
Either way, kickoff is slated for Thursday night at 8:15 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
Packers Clips
Heading into the season, the Vikings were a distant fourth in the betting odds to win the NFC North. A lot can change in two weeks.
The Vikings are now 2-0, with both wins coming against division opponents, a game ahead of the Lions, Packers and Bears, and the new betting favorites to win the division.
The Vikings’ odds are +194 to win what looks to be the NFL’s most competitive division. The Lions are next at +205, followed by the Packers at +285. Last year’s NFC North winners, the Bears, not have the longest odds, at +500, amid concerns that Caleb Williams could miss extended time with a hamstring injury.
Uncertainty at quarterback in Minnesota is an issue, but the Vikings have found a way to win two weeks in a row with Carson Wentz replacing the injured Kyler Murray. The Vikings’ defense looks ferocious, and the Vikings look like a playoff team. Something few thought they’d be just a couple weeks ago.
The second Sunday of the 2026 regular season gave new meaning to the second-game experience.
As noted by Megan Armstrong of Awful Announcing, multiple viewers of the Packers-Jets and Falcons-Panthers games on Fox complained that the sound was replaced with audio from Bears-Vikings.
Armstrong’s story includes multiple tweets, including visual/audio evidence.
A PFT reader emailed the same concern.
“My husband and I were watching the Packers/Jets game on FOX today,” the reader said. “Twice, we lost the audio for our game and were listening to the Vikings/Bears game. The first time only lasted about a minute but the second time was at least 5-6 minutes. So we’re watching the Pack and listening to the Vikes.”
In nearly 25 years of doing this, audio from one game making its way into another game is a first. And hopefully it’s the last time something like that will happen.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s late-game decision-making came under fire in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Packers, but he doesn’t feel any differently about his choices after a night to sleep on it.
After the 20-17 loss, Glenn said he never considered calling a timeout when the Packers faced a fourth down near midfield with about a minute left in regulation. The Packers wound up running the clock down and taking a delay of game penalty before trying a Hail Mary on the final snap of the game.
On Sunday, Glenn said he didn’t want the team’s offense to be backed up after a punt and reiterated that on a Monday video conference while expressing no doubt about the course of action he chose for the team.
“Between me and our game management guys, our analytical guys, we talk through those situations quite a bit,” Glenn said. “That situation actually came up in a number of our conversations. When we have the punter at the logo, we don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we get our guys in a backed up situation. I know we talk about getting our offense going in that situation, but the thing is they had two timeouts also. If you put yourself in a backed up situation and things don’t go as planned, I think you’re giving the other team an opportunity to go out there and make a play. I just felt like that was the right decision to do at that point and we actually wanted to play for overtime when it came to that.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said on Sunday that he was “really confused” by how Glenn handled the situation, which could be translated to being really thankful that Glenn allowed the Packers to control how the final minute of regulation played out.
The Falcons aren’t ready for prime time. But prime time is ready for the Falcons.
Atlanta, which lost 34-3 to the Panthers on Sunday, has three straight night games over the next three weeks. On Thursday night, the Falcons visit the Packers. The following Monday night, the Falcons visit the Saints. Then, six nights later, the Falcons host the Ravens.
The Week 5 game could, in theory, be flexed out of prime time. It’s rare for it to happen so early in the schedule. But with the Falcons at 0-2 and with the next two games to be played in a standalone window, the NFL may decide not to subject a national audience to a third straight Falcons game.
Other possibilities for the Sunday night window in Week 5 include 49ers-Seahawks, Bears-Packers, and Vikings-Saints. That same week, the Cowboys host the Buccaneers on Thursday night. Week 5 ends with a Monday night game between the Bills and Rams in L.A.
Ultimately, it’s the NFL’s decision. If a change is going to happen, the decision would need to be made by Tuesday, September 29.
The Jets blew a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Packers, but they could have gotten the ball back at the end of regulation with time for a chance to win the game.
The Packers ran a third down play near midfield with 1:05 left in regulation and the Jets stopped wide receiver Christian Watson short of a first down, but head coach Aaron Glenn did not call a timeout before the Packers took a delay of game penalty. The Packers wound up using a 10-second runoff to help get the clock down to two seconds before trying an unsuccessful Hail Mary.
Green Bay finished off the comeback in overtime and Glenn said at a press conference after the 20-17 loss that he “didn’t think of using a timeout at all” in that situation. He was asked why that thought never crossed his mind.
“I want to go back and really look at it, to be honest with you,” Glenn said, via a transcript from the team. “But I think they were in a situation where they were trying a no brainer, and they took the no brainer, or they took the penalty on that. It was down to 11 seconds. At that point, I didn’t want to put ourselves in a position where we want to take a timeout. Let’s let it end. . . . If they would have punted it, they would have put us in a backed-up situation. I think they could’ve punted the ball and put us in a backed-up situation right there, so that was the reason why.”
Glenn also chose to receive the kickoff in overtime, which led to a three-and-out and a quick Packers drive for the game-winning field goal. Those decisions will likely be up for further debate among Jets fans who were hoping to end Sunday with a 2-0 record.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur shared an update on wide receiver Jayden Reed after Sunday’s 20-17 overtime win against the Jets.
Reed left the game after taking a big hit from Jets linebacker Demario Davis on the team’s second offensive play of the game. Reed was down for an extended period of time before being loaded onto a backboard so he could be carted off the field. He was quickly ruled out with a neck injury.
LaFleur said at his postgame press conference that Reed has movement in his extremities and that he will remain in a New Jersey hotel overnight rather than travel back with the team.
Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was carted off one play later and ruled out with a knee injury. LaFleur said it looks like Bako-Bewele will be out for an extended period of time.
The Falcons fell to 0-2 in a 34-3 loss to the Panthers on Sunday and head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game that it was an “extremely disappointing” performance by his team.
Stefanski’s club turned the ball over five times in the loss with three coming while starting quarterback Cooper Rush was in the game. After the game, Stefanski was asked at his press conference if Michael Penix will be ready to play against the Packers on Thursday night.
Stefanski said Penix has continued to progress as he tries to return to action after last season’s torn ACL, but that he had no updates on his condition.
“I don’t think now’s the time to know,” Stefanski said if Penix was in play for this week.
Rookie Jack Strand replaced Rush in the third quarter and looked like an undrafted rookie pressed into action, so the non-Penix options aren’t particularly appetizing for a team that is looking at their season getting away from them before September is over.
The Packers made a habit of giving up big leads over the course of a six-game losing streak, but they were on the other side of things against the Jets this Sunday.
Jordan Love threw a touchdown to Christian Watson in the fourth quarter and came up with a couple of key completions in overtime to put the Packers in position for a 26-yard Trey Smack field goal. The rookie kicked it through and the Packers left MetLife Stadium with a 20-17 win.
The Packers spotted the Jets a 17-7 lead, but scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to overtime. Two sacks helped the defense force a quick Jets punt and the Packers got the ball back on their own 34-yard-line. Kaleb Johnson picked up a first down with a long run and a pass to running back Chris Brooks went for 15 yards. A late hit on Brooks out of bounds handed the Packers 15 more yards and things were academic after another good gain on a pass to Matthew Golden.
Love finished the day 16-of-29 for 145 yards, but finishing with a win was much more important for the Packers given the way last season ended and this one began. They lost wide receiver Jayden Reed, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, and left guard Aaron Banks to injuries during the game, lost a fumble and committed 14 penalties for 133 yards, but they avoided the fatal mistakes that had swamped them in previous outings.
The Jets have a long history of mystifying defeats as well and they did plenty to contribute to this one. They wound up with more penalty yards than the Packers and head coach Aaron Glenn made a baffling decision at the end of regulation. The Packers faced a fourth-and-5 near midfield after a completion to Christian Watson, but Glenn did not call timeout and the Packers took a delay of game penalty with 21 seconds left. A 10-second runoff was applied and the Packers wound up taking a timeout with two seconds left to try a Hail Mary and keep the ball out of the Jets’ hands.
Glenn will also be asked about the decision to run out of the shotgun with Braelon Allen on a fourth-and-1 from the 50 after the two-minute warning because blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter would never have happened without that run of mistakes.
The Jets will head to Detroit next week while the Packers will be hosting the Falcons on Thursday night.
It was a sloppy, rainy four quarters at MetLife Stadium and it isn’t over yet.
The Jets scored 17 straight points after the Packers took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, but Jordan Love drove his team for a touchdown with just under eight minutes to play and the Packers were able to force a Jets punt on the ensuing drive. Skyy Moore returned the punt 63 yards to set Green Bay up on the Jets’ 19-yard-line, but the Jets were able to hold and force a game-tying field goal by rookie kicker Trey Smack.
The Jets got the ball back with 2:59 to play and picked up a first down on a Geno Smith pass to Garrett Wilson. Another completion to Wilson left them with a short third down near midfield on the first play after the two-minute warning and running back Breece Hall was stopped for a gain of one yard. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn left his offense on the field, but Braelon Allen was stopped for no gain on a run out of the shotgun to turn the ball over with 1:15 left to play.
Love threw two incompletions to open the Packers drive and a pass to Christian Watson on third down left them with five yards to go for a first down. The Packers lined up to go for it, but took a delay of game with 21 seconds to play. Glenn had two timeouts at his disposal, but did not use them to conserve time for a final effort at ending the game in regulation. There was also a 10-second runoff, which allowed the Packers a chance to call a timeout with two seconds left to try for a Hail Mary.
Love was sacked, which means we’re headed to overtime and the Jets will have to win in the extra session to take the heat off of Glenn for his clock management blunder.
